Virgin Caps ‘Unlimited’ MiFi Data Plan at 5GB

Remember Virgin Mobile’s amazing MiFi plan which gave truly unlimited mobile internet for just $40 per month? It turns out that Virgin couldn’t handle it, and has decided to cap the plan at just 5GB.

This isn’t just for new customers, either. A Gadget Lab reader forwarded us an email he received from Virgin (pasted below) telling him that his service will be crippled as of February 15th. Even AT&T, the grandaddy of screwing customers, let iPhone users keep their existing unlimited plans when they capped bandwidth for new contracts.

Virgin won’t cut you off completely once you get to 5GB. Instead, it will slow bandwidth to a (unspecified) trickle, a common trick in Europe.

The plan, still to be called “Unlimited Broadband2Go”, is contract-free, so you can at least walk away. And remember, if you see anything promising you “unlimited” data in the future, just assume that it’s a lie.

Here at Virgin Mobile, our mission is to deliver an outstanding customer experience. Sometimes that means making difficult choices in order to provide the best possible service to the greatest number of customers.

To make sure we can keep offering our $40 Unlimited Broadband2Go Plan at such a great price, we’re putting a speed limit in place for anyone on that plan who uses over 5GB in a month.

How will it work?
Starting February 15, 2011, if you go over 5GB in a month on the $40 Unlimited Plan:
Your data speeds will be limited for the remainder of the monthly plan cycle. During this time, you may experience slower page loads and file downloads and lags in streaming media.
Your data speeds will return to normal as soon as you buy a new Broadband2Go Plan.
This change will only affect plans bought on or after 2/15/2011.
How will it affect me?
Keep in mind, 5GB is A LOT of data. To give you an idea, it’s about 250 hours of web browsing or over 500,000(!) emails*. So this change shouldn’t affect you unless you’re a heavy downloader/streamer/etc.

How will I know if I’m getting close to 5GB?
We’ve updated the progress bar in your Connection Manager to show the amount of data you’ve used. If you go above 5GB in a month, the bar will turn yellow, letting you know your data speeds will be reduced until you buy a new plan.

By putting this speed limit in place, we’re making sure we can deliver the same quality service you’ve come to expect from Broadband2Go. We hope you understand.
Thanks for being a Broadband2Go customer.
Virgin Mobile

* Data usage per activity is based on an average. Actual usage varies depending on the types of websites, video, email and other internet applications accessed.